Publius Aelius Hadrianus was a cultivated admirer of Greek civilization
and has been called one of the five 'good emperors' of Rome.

Hadrian was born in Spain. When his father died his guardian became
his cousin, Trajan, who became emperor in 98. Hadrian served as consul
under Trajan's reign and succeeded him in 117. He was a follower of
the Stoic philosophy.

His cosmopolitan outlook led him to travel around
the empire. During this journeys he strengthened fortifications to secure
the frontiers of the empire. He reversed the expansionist policies in a
permanent shift to the defensive.

In 134 he supressed a rebellion of the
Jews in Palestine. At home he instructed jurists to draw up a legal code,
a code which was the basis of the Justinian code that became the basis
of much of Europe's legal system.